FYS-146 Cryptography: The Science of Secrecy

Course Description:
Ever since people have been communicating they have had reasons to communicate in secret. The ability to send secret messages has always been important for military and security reasons, and has become even more important in the age of the internet, e-commerce, and electronic voting. In this course, we will look at some of the ways that mathematics has been used to communicate in secret in the past as well as ways that it may be used in the future. Our discussions will range from the ancient Egyptians and Romans to World War II to Edward Snowden and the possibility of quantum computers. We will also discuss the ways that these technological advancements have affected society and vice versa.